Irish blown away by the Windies

Ireland captain William Porterfield was left to rue a "massive missed opportunity" after a batting collapse handed the West Indies an opening ICC World Twenty20 victory by 70 runs in Guyana last night. Qualifiers Ireland had performed well in the field to limit the tournament hosts to 138 for nine in Georgetown but were bowled out for 68 in just 16.4 overs, the second-lowest score in the short history of Twenty20 internationals and the lowest in any of the three World Twenty20 tournaments to date. Only Kenya had fared worse, scoring 67 against, ironically, Ireland in Belfast in 2008 and Porterfield cut a frustrated figure in his post-match press conference. "The way we bowled and fielded we were right in it after the first 20 overs and so this was a massive missed opportunity," Porterfield said. "It's disappointing, not just the fact that we lost, but the way we lost, especially with the bat. "It's pretty disappointing getting bowled out for 70, it doesn't matter who we're playing against or what the conditions were like or anything. We've got no excuse." The captain had been the first to depart in the Irish innings. Having hit the opening ball from Kemar Roach for four runs Porterfield was out next ball, caught in the slips by man-of-the-match Darren Sammy. And Ireland were in deeper trouble moments later as Paul Stirling and Niall O'Brien followed their captain back to the dugout as the Irish slumped to 11 for three inside the first two overs. "We were struggling after the first 11 balls, losing three wickets. It was a struggle to come back from there," Porterfield added. "Losing early wickets set us right on the back foot. "It's hard to play when we just kept losing wickets regularly. We needed a platform, needed some sort of start and to keep wickets in hand coming to the end. "And if we'd have scored at a half-decent rate up to that we would have stood a half-decent chance. "Going four or five down coming out of the first six (overs) you just can't be in that position." West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo, who stood in for the injured Chris Gayle, was understandably delighted to get off to a winning start in front of his team's own fans. "I thought it was a very good game and I'm very happy with the guys that played today," Bravo said. The hosts next face England in Georgetown on Monday before Ireland face the English on the same wicket 24 hours later.

Meanwhile, New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by two wickets in the opening game of the tournament at the Guyana National Stadium. Nathan McCullum won the game with a six off Lasith Malinga on the penultimate ball after Sri Lanka had set a target of 136 runs. Mahela Jayawardene made the most of his debut as an opening batsman for Sri Lanka as he hit 81 in 51 balls to drive the total to 135 for six in their 20 overs at the crease. Shane Bond took two wickets for 35. In response, New Zealand had a third-wicket stand of 62 between Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill, Ryder top-scoring with 42 before McCullum closed the game out with 16 runs from six balls. * Agencies

* PA Sport

How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”